Inflation is creeping higher, with some Americans saying they’re squeezed: “It’s really challenging”

For Kasey McBlais, a 42-year-old single mom who lives in Maine with her two elementary school-aged children, the cost of running a household is only getting more expensive, from buying groceries to paying for her home’s upkeep.

“It’s really challenging,” McBlais, who works at a nonprofit, says of managing her expenses. “It’s paycheck to paycheck.”

Cleaning her chimney cost $500 this year, up from about $200 when she bought her house in 2019. And grocery money isn’t going as far either, prompting McBlais to stretch meals to make sure the family has leftovers. “I honestly don’t expect anything to go back to the way they were — it’s a matter of things leveling off where they are at,” she said. 

McBlais’ concerns and struggles come as the pace of inflation continues to creep higher, remaining well above the Federal Reserve’s goal of driving it down to an annual 2% rate. The situation is leaving some consumers feeling frustrated by stubbornly high prices on everything from groceries to housing, souring their views about the health of the U.S. economy. 

In a recent CBS News poll, two-thirds of Americans said that prices in the past few weeks have continued to rise, with nearly all saying they expect the rise in costs to continue.